Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that prohibits the use of virtual private networks and anonymizers, Reuters reported Sunday. The new law is intended to prevent access to websites banned by the Russian government.

The law has already been approved by the Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, and will go into effect November 1, Reuters reported.

The move comes as Russian neighbor China continues its crackdown on VPNs, which allow web users to evade government blocks on news sites and social networking tools. On Saturday, Apple said it would remove VPN apps from its China App Store.

Other countries that have blocked use of VPNs in the past include Iran and Iraq.